Named in honor of the late activist and hacker, who was being prosecuted under the CFAA at the time of his suicide on January 12, the bill (PDF) was introduced on Thursday by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

The new bill's purpose is to modernize the original 1986 law, which critics argue has become outdated and criminalizes online behavior that shouldn't be punished.

"Aaron’s Law is not just about Aaron Swartz, but rather about refocusing the law away from common computer and Internet activity and toward damaging hacks," Lofgren and Wyden wrote in a Wired op-ed announcing the introduction of the bill.

The legislators focused on three main reforms. First, the bill defines unauthorized access and decriminalizes the mere violation of online terms of service. According to its critics, this was the law's biggest flaw, since it allowed for multiple interpretations by prosecutors. Unauthorized access is now defined as "gaining unauthorized access to information by circumventing technological or physical controls," the authors wrote in the op-ed.

The new bill also eliminates a provision that allowed prosecutors to levy multiple charges for the same violation, and reduces the maximum number of penalties in certain cases, making them more lenient.

The online-rights advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation wrote in a blog post that "while Aaron’s law is clearly an improvement, it is important to point out that it’s far from perfect," arguing that it could have goner even further. EFF proposed adding more penalty reductions and adding a provision that would decriminalize users' efforts to remain anonymous or mask their identities online.

Another online rights group, the Center for Democracy and Technology, applauded the introduction of the bill. "Aaron’s Law would eliminate any ambiguity and make those courts’ decisions the law of the land. Only people who break into computers by circumventing technical restrictions should be prosecuted as computer criminals,” said Kevin Bankston, CDT's senior counsel, in a statement sent to the press.

Demand Progress, the Internet-activism organization founded by Swartz, underlined the importance of the bill.

"When Aaron’s Law is signed into law, it will mean that Aaron will continue to do in death what he always did in life, protect the freedoms and rights of all people," David Segal, the executive director of Demand Progress, wrote in a statement sent to the press.

Do you think Aaron's Law is a step in the right direction? What still needs to be done? Let us know in the comments.

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